Magic Rules Life
by iana silmir
Summary: Set after the events in Lirael and The Creature In The Case, Sameth and Lirael have had children with separate people, and they're about to have their lives turned upside down...
1. Chapter 1

A.N; This story takes place after the events in Lirael and Garth Nix's Creature in the Case (released for World Book Day), but is based along the same theory. And it's a self-insertion fic, as I can't quite get the hang of 3rd person writing...

Iana POV

I sat in the art room, a blank piece of paper on my desk, staring out of the window in front of me. My reflection stared back; a pale-skinned, long black haired, dark blue/grey eyed excuse for a human being. My lips, with dark purple lipstick on them, were a stark contrast to my skin. My eyes were circled in black eyeliner, each of my ears was pierced four times, and a thick black choker with a large silver and black onyx cross decorated my neck. My nails were painted a deep purple to match my lips, my wrists were hung with bracelets galore and I wore at least one ring on every finger except the fourth on my left hand. One look at me confirmed the fact that I was a Goth, through and through. But I didn't care what other people thought about me; for what my close and extended family was, I fit in perfectly.

I usually worked overtime in art, but now that it was the end of the year, I couldn't be bothered, and I knew for a fact that I wasn't the only one in thinking this. My best friend and second cousin Silver was sat next to me, busy drawing on a piece of paper with a green chalk. I looked over at her picture and saw a beautifully created tree, the detail on the trunk and branches exact; Silver had even drawn each of the leaves individually, something that I just didn't have the patience to do. Silver was practically a piece of artwork herself; long auburn hair and green/hazel eyes, rare colours where we came from… She too had pale skin, but hers was creamy and soft, while mine was almost paper white. Her lips were full and pink, while mine were full but pale. I'm practically pale all over; it comes from my Mother... Silver was wearing a lavender coloured eye-shadow and clear lip-gloss, a thin gold bracelet on her wrist and wore a thin gold chain with a small cross around her neck. Her forehead was creased as she concentrated on her work; I smiled as I realised that it was the same look I had when I was working. I leant over.

"Pretty good…" I whispered; Silver looked up at me and smiled.

"Thanks!" She looked at my desk, "Why haven't you done anything?" I shrugged my shoulders and glanced back out of the window.

"It's not worth it, not when we're leaving in two weeks time…" I answered; Silver looked out of the window and followed my gaze, to the large white monolith that stood on the perfectly kept green lawn. She gulped and shook her head.

"Don't think about that…," she said quietly, turning back to her drawing; I looked at her.

"Why not?" I asked; Silver sighed.

"Because in two weeks we'll be going back to the place that spawns the evil creatures like that which caused the memorial to be built," she whispered; I was about to retort when I realised that she was right.

We were enrolled at Wyverley College, '_For young ladies of quality'_ near to the town of Bain, Ancelstierre. Both my cousin and her mother, my Aunt, had come to this school. We lived here throughout the school year, and journeyed home during the holidays. But when we left in two weeks, we would never be returning… Unknown to anybody but the Headmistress and the Magistrix at the school, Silver and I were not actually citizens of Ancelstierre; we were both from the Old Kingdom. The country where no modern technology works, where magic actually exists… Where the dead can live and walk again…

The pupils and teachers at the school were not permitted to know where Silver and I came from, due to the events that had taken place 19 years ago, involving both our parents and something aptly named 'The Destroyer'. I didn't know all of the details, doubtless I ever will. All I knew was that my Mother met my Father and lost her hand at around the same time. Lirael 'Goldenhand' my Mother was known as in the Old Kingdom, thanks to the magical hand that was attached to her wrist. It had been made by the Wallmaker, the first one in almost a thousand years; Prince Sameth, my cousin… and Silver's Father. Silver's Mother, Renile, was a Noble Woman from a nearby Northern Country, a family with Berserker blood if I ever saw one. Her Father, Sameth, had Berserker blood as well, but Silver had never actually showed this in front of anyone; I reckoned she was just biding her time…

My Mother was Prince Sameth's Aunt, even though she was only a couple of years older than him, which was why Silver was my second cousin. My Mother was the half sister of the famous Queen Sabriel, my Aunt, which made her a Princess and my Father a Lord. This made me a Princess and my older brother, Verl, a Prince as well. Though we're still in line for the throne, there's very little chance that we'd ever get there, and I'd never want to be a Queen anyway; too many restrictions… Aunt Sabriel and Uncle Touchstone had abdicated the throne to their daughter Ellimere, my cousin and Silver's Aunt, less than 3 years ago, but still lived in the capital to help her-

"Miss Sayre?" a voice interrupted my thoughts. I gulped, sat up straight and looked at the teacher, Mrs Hart.

"Yes?" I asked, knowing I was in for a reprimand of some sort. Mrs Hart peered at me over the rim of her spectacles.

"Do you plan on doing some work today? Or are you just going to sit staring out of the window until school ends?" she snapped; I shook my head guiltily, picked up a stick of charcoal and began drawing on the paper before me. As soon as Mrs Hart had turned away to scold another girl, I collapsed into giggles. Quickly, in case anybody noticed, Silver drew the Charter marks for silence and calming and placed them on the back of my neck. Once I could control myself I turned to thank her… but no words came out; I drew the mark for speech and touched my throat.

"Thanks…" I hissed to her; Silver smiled.

"No need…" she whispered, "It's my job to make sure you don't get into too much trouble…" I grinned and turned back to my paper.

_Meanwhile, near the town of Edge;_

_A man stood on a mound of earth, looking out south towards the Wall, just visible in the distance. He knew what he had to do, and nothing was going to stop him. _

_But the Royals were too heavily guarded, the Abhorsen was always moving, and the one with the Mixed Blood was too dangerous to approach. So they were out of the plan_…_ He had to strike where they were the weakest, where it was the easiest_…

_He looked down at the mound, and then drew a bell of some sort from a bandoleer across his chest. The man turned 360_˚_ to check that the coast was clear, and then scouted with his magical senses for any nearby threats: nothing. The man raised the bell and rung it in a backwards figure of eight, then a series of slight jerks of the wrist. The bell had a deep sound, clear, yet somehow muffled_…_ as if it was sounding beneath the earth. The man stepped back as the ground beneath his feet began to shudder, as a half rotten arm pushed its way up to the surface. The bell was meant to send him far into the realm of Death as these spirits came out, but thanks to a few long forgotten spells, this didn't happen. That way he could keep watch on his creations as they emerged, which meant they were less likely to be destroyed before they had completed the little task he had set for them_…

_The bell kept ringing, as more and more limbs pushed their way through the grass. The man stopped the bell and swapped it for a bigger bell. He rang this in another figure of eight, directing the sound towards the corpses climbing up to the daylight._

_Daylight_…_ The man cursed; he'd forgotten that the sun would weaken his newly created servants. Quickly, the man spoke a spell as he rang the bell, white smoke flowing from his mouth. As soon as 28 or so corpses had levered themselves out of the ground, the man began to run towards the nearest patch of trees, the 'things' following behind him._

_His vengeance would have to wait for now_…_ and he was a very patient person_…

What will happen next? He he! Only I know, oh, and Silver; she helps me write my stories, so basically my pen name covers two people. Please review so that I know that people like my work, and then I know whether I need to spend time posting the next chapter or not! XxX


	2. Chapter 2

No reviews... hmmm... never mind! I've decided that I don't really about reviews, even though they'd help me make the story better. Apparently, only a few of you like this story, but it keeps me busy! Lol!

_Dusk, two days later, at Barhedrin Hill;_

_A Runner Scout came stumbling into General Halrey's office, stopping just before the desk where the General sat, looking through supply and weapon lists._

"_Good Lord, man!" Halrey exclaimed, standing up, "What in the name of Death happened to you?" Out of breath, the exhausted man tried to speak, but nothing more than a hoarse whisper came out. General Halrey quickly grabbed a pitcher of water off the desk and offered it to the Scout, who drank deeply. As he drank, Halrey pushed him down into a chair, but the Scout jumped up again._

"_No!" he gasped, putting the pitcher back on the desk, "No time for rest_…_ De-Dead on the hills_…_ on their way to the wall_…_" General Halrey gulped. _

"_How many?" he asked; the Scout shook his head as if to clear it, "20_…_ maybe more. They're led by a Free Magic something or other_…_ It was making them chant_…_their-their_…_" The man stopped to take a deep breath, clearly upset, "It's sending them after the Abhorsen-in-Waiting and the Princess_…_"_

_General Halrey grabbed at the desk to stop himself falling. After a moment of wide-eyed horror, he composed himself, strode past the Runner and out of the room. Looking around to see if anyone else had heard the conversation, he saw the men in his charge staring at him. Halrey swallowed as he realised that everyone had been listening; one man stepped forward and spoke._

"_Should I send Message birds to the Abhorsen and the Prince?" he asked; Halrey shook his head._

"_The Abhorsen is busy with the dead at Nestowe again, and the Prince is busy repairing the broken stones on the far north side of the Red Lake," he replied, "No, send for a company of the Royal Guard from High Bridge; our force is not large enough to deal with the Dead on our own," The man bowed and turned to hurry away, "Wait!" the man stopped and looked at Halrey, "Do send a message to the Prince; he may be able to send more soldiers," The man nodded and strode away; Halrey turned to the rest of his men._

"_Prepare your weapons; we will defend this post until the Dead are back where they belong," The men bowed and went about sharpening their swords and other objects. Halrey walked back inside the office to the Runner Scout._

"_I want you to take a message to Crossing Point Scouts," he told the Runner, "Tell them a small group of the Dead may make it over the Wall. If they do, they are to leave them to cross until the Royal Guard arrive; we don't want more bodies to deal with," The Runner Scout closed his eyes to remember the message, before nodding his head and exiting the office. Halrey took a quick sip of brandy to clear his head and steady his nerves._

"_I thought all this had ended 23 years ago," he murmured before taking up his own sword and beginning to sharpen its edges._

_Same day, The Red Lake;_

_Prince Sameth raised the dagger again and cut his hand from the base of his little finger to the base of his thumb. Before any blood could fall to the ground, the Prince placed his hand on the Charter Stone before him and began speaking a spell. A spell older than the wall itself, and dangerous enough to destroy the spell caster. Sparkling yellow lights sprang up and began swirling around the Prince and the stone. The guards that circled the stone and Prince at least 10 metres away ignored the light, watching the surrounding countryside for any sign of danger. There was a loud cracking sound and the Charter Magic faded away into nothing. Prince Sameth carefully took his healed hand away from the newly repaired stone and sighed._

_Suddenly, a guard shouted and pointed at the sky. Prince Sameth looked up to see a small black speck heading towards them. 6 of the guards raised bows with arrows ready, awaiting the signal._

_"Shall we my Lord?" the Head Guard asked, turning to the Prince. Sameth shook his head; he had already checked the 'thing' with his magical senses, and it was definitely alive._

_"It's not Dead," Sameth told the Guard, who then gestured for the others to lower their bows. They stood still until the 'thing' came close; Sameth sighed again when he saw that it was only a Message bird_…_ then drew breath when he saw the piece of red ribbon attached to its leg; the sign for danger. He held out his arm for the Bird to land on._

_"Message for Prince Sameth, message for Prince Sameth," the bird, a small falcon, squawked; Sameth gently smoothed down the bird's slightly ruffled feathers_

_"Yes, I'm Prince Sameth. What is it?" he told the bird; The bird cocked its head, as if making sure that this really was Sameth before giving its message. _

_"From General Halrey at Barhedrin Post. Dead on hills heading to the Wall. Heading after Princesses Silver and Iana. 10 Soldiers from High Bridge on their way, commanded by Sergeant Dalert. Crossing Point Scouts to leave Dead alone until Royal Guard arrive. Request additional troops for backup if possible," The bird stopped, its message finished. Sameth looked up at the guards, his face pale and drawn. The guards turned to look at each other, not knowing what to do. Sameth gulped and the guards looked at their Prince worriedly, afraid the news would damage him both physically and mentally, especially after the repairing of over 10 stones in a week._

_"Highness_…_We," the Head Guard began, but Sameth stopped him with a wave of his hand. Giving the Message bird to him, Sameth spoke._

_"Send a message to Lieutenant Ancel in Belisaere," He told the Head Guard, "I want 10 of the Royal Guard down at Barhedrin in three days to join with those from High Bridge. Send them on horses; have fresh ones ready at all of the posts for them. Make sure supplies are in stock at each post as well; food and water. Ask for the strongest Charter Mages; no-one else will do," Sameth started pacing back and forth in front of the Charter Stone, its warmth slowly calming his already fraying nerves. "Tell them it's urgent, a matter of life or death… Tell them that the fate of the Kingdom lies on their shoulders_…_"_

5 days later, Wyverley College, Ancelstirre.

Silver POV

I emerged from the bathroom to find Iana just sitting on her bed, shivering. I picked up my shortie pyjamas and went to get changed, but noticed that Iana still hadn't moved, well, apart from shivering. I looked at her concernedly.

"What's the matter? It's nearly lights out, you'd better get changed," I warned her. She still didn't move, just stared into the distance. "Iana? Iana!" I called. She seemed to snap out of her trance and looked up at me, "What's the matter?" I asked again; she gave a shudder.

"Dead… Between here and the village… I can feel them… Can't you?" she asked in a whisper. I stood still for a moment and concentrated hard… Yes, there was something there… something dead…

"What shall we do…? Shall we go and see?" I asked.

"There are people there too… They may be in danger," Iana answered; I grinned. A few dead didn't scare me.

"Great! A mission! Let's go!" I exclaimed excitably; Iana didn't look so convinced. I strode over to the wardrobe and flung open the doors. Hidden at the back of it, behind all the clothes were our swords; Iana's was called Itio, meaning Slayer, and mine was Bereth, meaning Giver. I smiled as I saw them. Father had made them especially for us… They suited us so well, light and strong, and of course, deadly, especially to the dead.

Being Prefects at the school, this meant that I and Iana were allowed to have our own rooms, but we preferred to stick together. We were also allowed more home comforts, like an en-suite bathroom, a study and unlimited storage. This meant we were able to hide anything passed to us from our parents with out the teachers noticing, for example, our swords. I picked them up and passed Itio to Iana, causing her to smile slightly. I fastened Bereth's belt to my waist and made sure the sheath was in the perfect position. I looked up to see Iana doing the same. She then delved into a drawer and drew out her bells and my panpipes in their leather pouch. She passed the panpipes to me and I slung the pouch over my head and shoulder. I helped Iana fasten her bell bandoleer and we grinned at each other as we turned towards the window. We had escaped the college so many times this way, out of the window and down the wall, using the ivy that had become slightly overgrown. It was dangerous, with nothing but the ivy's stems that clung to the stone to rely on, but we both loved to do it. There was something in the way that we knew we were doing something forbidden that made us braver than usual…

Being the middle of autumn in Ancelstirre, we didn't need anything over the three-quarter sleeved shirts and dark jeans that both I and Iana wore… though Iana was still shivering, albeit less than before now that she was doing something. As my feet touched the ground, I looked around the grounds for anyone that may have heard or spotted our unorthodox escape from our room. Iana was doing the same, looking at the windows. Our rooms were at the front of the school on the third floor; we had asked for them. It meant we'd be the first people to see anything that came to the school. Grandma Sabriel and Granddad Touchstone had suggested it; they said it was for our own safety to be able to see what was coming and prepare for it. Not finding anyone, I led the way into the shadows. We ran silently under the rows of trees towards the gate, muscles tensed for any sign of company. We reached the double gates - Iana checking around again, before giving me a boost up to the first horizontal bar, which was 4 feet above the ground. I hung on and held my hand down for her to pull herself up. We clambered nimbly over the spikes at the top of the gate meant to prevent this sort of behaviour, dropped silently to the ground and ran into the tree shadows again. Since Iana had the stronger Death sense, she led the way, stopping every now and then to listen.

 

Soon, we were at Docky Point almost half a mile from Wyverley Village. I shuddered; I could smell the Free Magic wafting from under the stones that made the cairn that stood atop the hill. But that wasn't the only reason I was shuddering. My Great Uncle's body had been buried under there, the human body of Rogir, while the Greater Dead version of Kerrigor roamed freely over the Old Kingdom, eventually coming to the College. It was he that had caused the white monolith on the school garden to be built. It was he that had tried to kill Iana's Aunt and Uncle… My Grandmother and Grandfather…

"Silver?" Iana shook me by the shoulders, "Silver! We're here!" I realised I had drifted into a daydream, remembering the stories I had been told. I shook my head to rid myself of the pictures my imagination was conjuring up. I looked at Iana; her eyes were full of cold, hard determination; her black hair, pulled back in a horse tail, made her look even more formidable. Wondering what had made her look like that; I followed her to the edge of Docky Point and looked over. I realised that we were witnesses to a battle…

At least 30 Dead Hands were fighting with humans, around 20 in number, and winning. I gasped when I saw the humans, for they were wearing the Red and Gold uniform of the Royal Guard; my Father's Soldiers… I glanced at Iana, to see her studying the scene below with those cold eyes of hers.

"What are we going to do?" I asked her, feeling for my panpipes in their pouch. She looked down at her bells, then back out at the fight. The Soldiers must have had Charter Spelled blades, for white sparks flew every time they struck a Dead Hand. Iana untied the straps on one of the bells, and pulled out Saraneth, the Binder. I stared at her incredulously, surely she wasn't going to take on this many Dead single-handedly! She must have sensed me looking at her, for she turned to me.

"Take out your pipes," she ordered; I did so, "Do you know which one is Kibeth?" I glanced down at the pipes.

"The Walker?" I whispered, "The third one," Iana nodded.

"We'll cast a Charter light together, so we can see the Dead properly, and to let the Soldiers know that we're not Dead of course," she began, looking back over the ridge to where the sounds of swords hacking at rotten flesh were getting louder, as half the original amount of soldiers were being driven back towards the steep, almost cliff-like hillside, "When I start ringing Saraneth, I'll have control over the Dead. You'll have to use Kibeth to send them back into Death one at a time." I shuddered, but nodded. As the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, Iana knew what she was doing… hopefully…

Ooooooo! Scary Dead thingies walking around... If you like this, _please_ review, but even if you don't, I'll still post the next chapter. -

Iana XxX


	3. Chapter 3

One review, and that was pointing out a supposed flaw in the plot of this story. But I suppose I should be grateful that people are reading this story at all... My other story in the Lord of the Rings section is getting much more approval. Maybe I just don't suit re-writing the Garth Nix stories... hmmm...

Ancel POV

The Message bird had arrived four days ago, and already my ten Soldiers and I had reached Barhedrin Post. We had met up with Sergeant Dalert and his ten men at High Bridge three days ago, and had ridden hard all the way here. We had listened to General Halrey at the post, and were now across the wall, heading for Wyverley College. All of the men were tired and saddle-sore, having been riding for the full four days almost none stop. The only thing that kept them going was the fact that their Princesses were in danger…

I know it sounds strange, but I've never even seen the Princess Silver before; she had never been back in Belisaere for long, and I had always been away on campaigns at those times she was. As I rode I wondered what she was like. I hoped she wasn't a spoilt little brat… Well, Prince Sameth and Princess Renile would never bring a child up to be a brat… And she wouldn't be little. How old was she now?... 18… I think… A boy would be allowed to join the Royal Guard at 18. I stopped daydreaming and looked at our surroundings. So… This was the hill known as Docky Point; I shuddered at the thought of what had happened all those years ago, but pushed it from my mind.

"Lieutenant Ancel! Over there!" one of my men called, pointing quite a few metres in front of us, at Docky Point. I looked to where he pointed. Dead. Lots of them… 30 at least, about to climb the face of the hill. We couldn't smell them yet, as they were upwind from us, but they could smell us. They began heading our way. The horses, seeing this, began to get restless.

"Dismount, men, we make a stand!" I ordered and jumped off my horse. At once, it made to bolt, but another man grabbed it for me; I thanked him with a nod. "Stop them all! Let none escape. The lives of your Princesses are at stake!"

Sergeant Dalert's men were in a bad state. They weren't used to seeing this many Dead stumbling towards them, thirsty for blood and fresh meat. I turned slightly and gave them a reassuring smile, even though I hadn't seen this may Dead either, let alone fought them… I sent some men to hobble the horses further away, so they wouldn't see what happened and wouldn't be able to run away. Drawing my sword, the rest of the men quickly followed suit. The Dead could see us properly now, their rotten mouths trying to call and jeer at us, trying to provoke us into an attack on their terms. I turned to look at the men again, discovering some of them casting hasty Charter Spells upon their swords so they would cut into the Dead flesh and actually do damage. I glanced down at my own sword and saw Charter Marks already flowing up and down it, put there by Prince Sameth himself. Just watching them glide along the blade gave me the strength to look back up at the Dead. They were now almost 10 metres away, some holding jagged pieces of metal, others carrying large sticks or rocks in their malformed hands. Quickly, I scrambled to form a plan; the Dead outnumbered us by 10, but…

"Split in half!" I called out quietly, turning to the men again, "You lot go to the left, you others to the right! Meet at the back to surround them!" The soldiers nodded and did as ordered, being as quiet as shadows as they rapidly spread out. Sergeant Dalert and his men went to the right; I went to the left, leading my men around.

The Dead didn't notice until it was too late. With a cry of '_For the Kingdom!_' the soldiers leapt into battle with renewed energy. Sparks flew as the Charter spelled blades hacked and slashed into Dead flesh, there were eerie cries from the Dead mouths which were cut off by a quick swipe of a sword. But the extra 10 Dead Hands in the company had made a difference. Nearly half of the men had been cut down, whilst only a quarter of the Dead were _almost_ dead once more. The Dead had managed to outflank us and were now driving us back towards the hillside…

Suddenly, a small ball of light seemed to fly out from above us and hover over the battle, rapidly growing until it became a round globe-like light. It was Charter Magic; I could feel it from where I stood slashing at a Dead Hand that was trying to grab my throat. And a light that big could only have been produced by at least two Charter mages; experienced ones at that. The Dead Hands were startled by the light, shrinking from it and giving out their cries again. But they could still fight, and fighting they were. But then a sound cut through the cries, both of the Dead and of the soldiers still unhurt enough to fight. It was a deep sound, like a huge bell ringing harshly from a church tower. It began like the growl of a waking bear, then turned into the roaring of hundreds of bears. I didn't really care about the sound, I was only interested in killing the Dead; but then I realised they weren't fighting anymore. The other soldiers had also noticed, and were looking at each other, confused. The sound kept going; on and on… Then another came in. This one was many sounds, happy, almost like those used in a dance or march of some sort. It made me want to perform a jig or something like that; it almost had my feet moving… Some of the other soldiers were also having a hard time keeping still, but they knew they had to. We all knew what these sounds were, and what would happen if we let them get to us. We had spent time training to try and protect us, but the Dead had had nothing of the sort…

The new sound wasn't working on all of them, as the first was, but rather one at a time. The sound would start; a Dead Hand would give a shriek, struggle against invisible bonds then seem to disappear into the ground; the sound would stop and then start again, working on another Hand. Eventually, only a couple of the Dead were left, stuck to where they stood. Another one vanished, and then another, until there was one left. The second sound had stopped but the first carried on. There was a flash and a different coloured ball of light flew down to float over the Hand. It pulsed slightly then turned into a ring of light, lowering itself around the creature. The light that was hovering over the entire scene dimmed slightly, whilst the first sound stopped. As soon as the echoes disappeared, the Dead contained inside the ring began fighting to free itself, but to no avail.

The soldiers were too stunned to do anything except stare, which was exactly what I wanted to do. But I snapped out of it, shaking my head and ordering the men to go and check the bodies that littered the ground; they hesitated and turned to look at me. Sergeant Dalert stepped forward, bearing scratches on the side of his face and an injured left arm.

"What was that?" he asked; I shrugged my shoulders and rubbed my forehead, trying to figure it out myself. The soldiers began talking quietly amongst themselves, glancing around awkwardly. A different soldier came forward.

"We don't understand," he exclaimed, looking at his companions for consolation, "Who wields the bells?" I opened my mouth to answer, but someone got there before me.

"We do…" a voice replied to the soldier's question, "But there was only one bell; the second one was a pipe," Every soldier turned to where the voice had come from, lifting their swords to the guard position before them. I shuddered as I realised that it could have been a Necromancer using the bells, not necessarily someone friendly towards the Royal Guard. Sergeant Dalert stepped back, meaning that he wanted me to deal with this. I nodded to him, cleared my throat and moved to the front of the company.

"Come out Necromancer, so we can see who you are!" I called; whoever it was chuckled darkly.

"Who said we _wanted_ to be seen?" it asked. That word; 'We'… I realised that we were possibly dealing with two Necromancers, but one used Panpipes, so obviously not into their full power… "But seeing as you asked so _nicely_…" The sarcasm was obviously aimed at the swords; I could almost feel the soldiers' tension at they waited for the Necromancers to step into the light, but they definitely weren't what we were expecting…

A woman came forward slowly. She was just over 5ft 7"; white skinned with waist length black hair tied back in a horse tail and dark blue/grey eyes that studied the scene before her intently. She wore thick black eyeliner around her eyes and her full lips were covered with a dark purple lipstick. Her ears were pierced four times and decorated with various ornaments, her wrists were hung with bracelets and a black choker with a silver and onyx cross surrounded her white neck. She was wearing an almost blood red 3-quarter sleeved shirt, with black trousers and black boots. She held a long, lethal sword in her pale, fragile-looking hand, where the long nails were painted a dark purple to match her lips, and nearly every one of her long, pale fingers bore at least one ring. She looked almost familiar… But what interested me the most was the bandoleer across her chest. Made of black leather and hung with seven pouches containing bells, from one as big as a jam jar to one as small as a pillbox, it was the universal symbol for a Necromancer. Sergeant Dalert gasped in shock when he saw them, but I motioned for him to keep quiet. The woman was looking me over as carefully as I was her, then another woman stepped forward into the light…

This one was the same height as the other, wearing the same trousers and boots, but in place of the red shirt, she wore a similar looking cream one. She had just longer than shoulder length, loose auburn hair, with light green/hazel eyes; rare colours where I came from. She also had pale skin, but hers was a creamy colour, with full, pink lips. She wore a light lavender eye-shadow, a clear gloss over her lips, a thin gold chain with a cross around her neck and a gold bracelet on her wrist. She too held a long sword in one hand, and had a small, brown leather pouch hung over her shoulder; she was obviously the one with the panpipes. She stood slightly behind the first woman and was looking directly at me, but her eyes were hazy, almost as if she was concentrating on something else. Neither of them could have been more than 18 years old…

The first woman was smiling grimly at my company, looking at the bodies of the Dead that lay around. She finished her inspection and glanced over to where the last Hand was fighting inside the ring of light. Ignoring the 10 or so swords that were pointed at her, the dark haired woman walked over to the ring. The second woman followed her, glancing back at me once.

"Wait!" I cried. The women stopped at the ring and turned back to us, "Who are you? How do we know you're not some kind of Free Magic denizens?" The dark haired woman grinned, showing teeth as white as her skin; she looked even more familiar now, and I felt as if I _had_ seen her before…

"Doesn't the Charter light above us prove that?" she asked, "Doesn't the fact that we vanquished over 20 Dead Hands to save you prove that?" I looked into her eyes, trying to discern the truth.

"Maybe," I answered, "But why have you kept one?" the second woman answered this time.

"We want to find out who sent them," she replied, "And why they were sent," The woman now seemed to have forgotten to keep her mind on whatever it was she was concentrating on so hard before. Unfortunately, it turned out that she was the one that had cast the ring of light spell, and now her lack of concentration caused the spell to fail. The Dead Hand screamed defiance, lurching forward to shove the dark haired woman over and loping away on badly working legs.

"Silver!" the woman on the ground yelled angrily; the auburn haired woman turned to where the Hand was running away,

"Anet! Cerlew! Ferhan!" she shouted, and three silver Charter-made knives flew from her outstretched hand, faster than any thrown knives could have possibly flown. They struck the Dead Hand on the back and it fell to the ground with a strange cry. The other woman had gotten up by this time and dusted herself off; she watched as the Hand crumpled to the floor and lay still.

"Iana… I'm so sorry," Silver told the dark haired woman.

"Don't worry," Iana brushed the apology away, "It's easily sorted…" But she stopped as she saw the Dead Hand get up and start lumbering away again.

"NO!" She screamed and sprinted after the Hand, Silver trying hard to catch up. There was silence, and then something was shouted. There was a horrid scream and a flash of light accompanied by a trail of white smoke from over the hill that they had disappeared behind. I gasped, along with Sergeant Dalert and most of the small company behind me. Leading the way, we ran over the hill and found Silver and Iana standing next to a large patch of flaming grass. Slowing down, I moved to Silver's side.

"What… what was that?" I asked, amazed.

"It was me…" Iana whispered, staring at the flaming grass; I raised my eyebrows as I caught the stench of Free Magic. The rest of the soldiers had also noticed the Free Magic smell. Iana, catching them sniffing warily explained.

"That was me as well…" She muttered; I was about to recoil in horror when I remembered who she was. Now I realised why she had looked so familiar; she had the same hair as her Mother, Princess Lirael, but her father, Lord Nicolas' eyes. Now I could see the Charter marks on the girls' foreheads; I bowed deeply, the soldiers following suit.

If any of you are confused as to the relationships between the characters in this story, either review and ask, or send me a private message by hitting my profile page. I have (almost) infinite patience for my readers, and I'm happy to help anyone!

Iana XxX


	4. Chapter 4

Woohoo! Two reviews! Thank you Vanilla Bean CEO; you make me feel all happy and warm inside! And SignSeeker, it was a bit confusing how I'd written the summary, I might have to change it...

Iana POV

The Lieutenant bowed to me, the soldiers doing the same, then turned to Silver and repeated it. Quickly, before it could spread, I whispered a word and the fire on the grass before me died. Silver, seeing my face, put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't fret," she whispered comfortingly, "You did what you had to do…" I shook my head.

"But I've broken my promise to Father…" I muttered, ashamed of my anger. The soldiers went off with the Sergeant, probably to sort out the bodies of the dead back over by Docky Point or to see to the horses. But the Lieutenant stayed where he was; I looked at him and met his eyes. They were a stormy grey, his hair was black, shoulder length and slightly wavy. It was his fault this had all happened, but I couldn't feel angry towards him. Silver's concentration had been broken because she was too busy watching him; probably fantasising… I grinned at Silver, who blushed slightly and looked at the floor. I didn't blame her; he _was_ nice looking, just not my type.

"Are you okay?" he asked us; I nodded and sighed.

"Why _are_ you here?" Silver asked him; the Lieutenant bowed again.

"I am Lieutenant Ancel of the Royal Guard posted at Belisaere," he began, "I was sent here… Well; it's a long story…"

"We have plenty of time," I told him; Ancel smiled and wiped his sword on the grass before sheathing it.

"But first we have to get rid of the bodies," he sighed and led the way back to the hillside. As we were walking, I spotted Silver staring at the back of Ancel's head; I grinned and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?" she whispered; I pointed at the Lieutenant's bottom.

"That's where you want to be looking…" I hissed into her ear; she gasped and stared at me in horror. I started laughing; I couldn't help myself… Ancel turned around and looked at Silver, who had now turned a furious red, biting her lip and looking _very_ embarrassed; Ancel grinned.

"I'm not going to ask!" he chuckled, grinning; this made me laugh even more, holding my sides and trying to draw in breath.

"You don't… want to know… believe me!" I squealed, gasping for breath. Ancel turned back around as we arrived back at the hillside; Silver turned to me.

"I'll get you for this…" she hissed, before giving me an elbow in the stomach; I gave a small yell of mock pain and she pushed me over. Before I could recover and get up, she had sat on my back pulling my arms up behind my back.

"Say sorry," she told me.

"No!" I hissed angrily, struggling to get free.

"Say sorry…" she sang, pushing my arms up further; I gasped in pain, "Come on, say sorry…"

"I don't want to!" I cried, gasping for breath again, rocking from side to side to try and throw her off.

"Say sorry!" she growled, twisting my arm slightly.

"I'M SORRY!" I yelled, as shooting pains were flying up and down my arms and my back ached terribly; Silver smiled wickedly.

"Thank you…" she said sweetly, getting up, not at all like the monster that had been sitting on me. I groaned and stayed where I was, trying to get the blood circulating in my arms again.

Through all of this, the soldiers, including the Sergeant and Lieutenant Ancel, had all been gaping at us in amazement; they had obviously never seen a Princess behave like Silver just had. I watched as Silver discovered them all staring at her, and grinned when she shrugged her shoulders, unable to explain. I groaned again as I moved my arms and tried to push myself off the ground; a soldier came and helped me up.

"Thanks," I whispered hoarsely, my throat killing me. The soldier smiled and went back to checking the bodies of the dead. I glared at Silver, who smirked and hung her head so no one could see. I turned to Lieutenant Ancel.

"We'll dispose of the Dead," I told him; he nodded and moved out of my way. I grabbed Silver's arm, and dragged her to a spot of clear grass, "Bring all of the Dead here, make a pile of them," Silver's mouth dropped open.

"Isn't there a Charter mark to do that?" she asked, looking at all the bodies around us; I shook my head. Suddenly, Silver turned on her cute eyes and looked straight at me, her hands clasped together in a pleading sign.

"Ianaaaaa…" She whined.

"What…?" I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

"Can't you do a bit of magic and make them into a pile?" she whimpered; I sighed again.

"But I've broken my promise to Father!" I told her, arms out wide, trying to make her see that I would get into big trouble, "He'll kill me if I do anymore!" Silver huffed; the soldiers around us stopped what they were doing to listen in.

"But if you've already broken your promise by doing it, a little more can't hurt can it?" she pleaded; I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead again, but when I opened them, she was still there with those eyes…

"Oh alright!" I cried, "But if I get into trouble, you're taking the blame…" Silver shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Stay out of the way," she told the soldiers around us, who hurriedly took a few steps backwards, wondering what was going on. Turning to me, "Do you want me to do anything?" she asked; I nodded.

"Stay behind me," I whispered, "And be ready to use Saraneth if anything goes wrong…" Silver gulped and took the bell from my bandoleer, knowing her pipe was too weak to contain me if anything did happen; I took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing…"

Iana XxX


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you Vanilla Bean CEO! You make writing this story one of life's pleasures! New chapter, just for you!

Silver POV

I stood back, by the soldiers and watched Iana carefully; the bell felt restless in my hand but I would never use it against my best friend… unless I really needed to. I heard someone come to stand slightly behind me; I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw that it was the Lieutenant. Why had his grey eyes made me loose concentration like that? Why did he distract me?

"My Father speaks of you very highly, Lieutenant Ancel," I told him, determined to be polite; Princesses were always meant to be polite, that's why Father made me work so hard at my etiquette lessons…

"Your Father is a kind man," he replied, just as polite. I smiled slightly, and then turned back to the woman standing alone.

Iana was taking off her bandoleer and sword belt, laying it all to one side. Everyone was silent, not knowing what to expect. The soldiers shot questioning glances at each other; they were Charter Mages, not Free Magic adepts… Iana turned to look at me, a frightened glint in her eyes.

"You will use it won't you?" she asked quietly; I felt upset at the very thought, but nodded all the same. I didn't want to use it, but I didn't want her to feel frightened either. For any Free Magic adept, this would be easy. But Iana didn't practice Free Magic anymore than she was allowed to, meaning that the control she had over her powers was a very tenuous hold indeed…

"Be careful…" I whispered, but only the Lieutenant heard it. I grasped the bell handle tightly in nervousness, but loosened my grip when I remembered what it could do…

Iana took a deep breath, obviously trying to steady her nerves, or to prepare herself for what she was about to unleash. There was silence, and then a low buzzing sound filled the air. The soldiers looked uncomfortable, but I stood there doing nothing. I didn't want to miss anything important; it was my job to make sure Iana stayed safe… The buzzing noise rose, and with it came the slight stench of Free Magic as Iana gathered the power she needed. Some of the soldiers backed away a bit more, but I ignored them; the noise and the smell too, as did Ancel, still standing slightly behind me. I glanced down at Iana's bandoleer to see a white light glowing from inside the pouches; the Charter Magic in the bells was reacting to the Free Magic in the air…

Iana was looking straight ahead, but appeared not to see anything. As the buzzing got louder, she began to glow slightly, pulsing with a blood red light. No other Free Magic adept could do this; it was the strange mixture of Free and Charter magic in her blood, which came from her Father, Nicolas Sayre, an Ancelstierren. He had been one of the main reasons that The Destroyer had even been raised at all; he had been the tool of Hedge, a Free Magic adept, ex-servant of Kerrigor. Free Magic had taken over him, but Iana's Mother, Lirael, had saved him whilst her companion, The Disreputable Dog (really Kibeth in disguise) gave him a late Charter baptism. This had held the Free Magic inside his body, whilst letting the Charter magic control it…

Suddenly, Iana spoke a word, and a great cloud of white smoke poured from her mouth. The buzzing was deafening by now, the smell of Free Magic so overpowering that it threatened to choke us all to death. I kept my eyes on Iana all the while, the bell twitching in my grasp, obviously sensing the Free Magic in the air. I glanced at Ancel, and saw the look of amazement on his face; his mouth hanging open slightly, eyes wide with astonishment.

All of a sudden, there was a flash of light. My head flicked back to Iana, where she was standing with her head thrown back, mouth wide in a silent scream. I gasped and bit my lip, as she pulled her head upright and fell to her knees, panting. I realised that this was what she had warned me about, and lifted the bell with both hands, unsure of what to do. She fell forwards, almost as if she had been hit from behind, but put out her hands to stop herself hitting the ground. I half gasped, half sobbed, then tilted the bell slightly... But before I could do anything, the Lieutenant had grabbed the bell and pushed it against my stomach; making sure that it didn't ring. I cried out and looked at him, but he took no notice of me; his eyes were still on Iana. I glanced back at where she knelt on the ground, to see her getting up, the blood red light now a pale yellow/white.

"What happened?" I whispered, terrified that something terrible had occured.

"The Charter Magic in her blood has stopped the Free Magic from controlling her…" the Lieutenant answered. Wondering how he knew that, I stared at Iana uncertainly as she stood up resolutely and spoke the same word as before, obviously determined to finish what she had started. Another billow of white smoke appeared, and the white light was replaced by the blood red one again. She spoke the word again, but shouted it this time. As she did, all of the Dead bodies around twitched and moved slightly. She shouted the word louder, and threw her arms out to either side. She cried two more words, different ones, and pulled her arms together to point at the ground; the Dead bodies flew over, making a pile in front of her. More smoke came from her mouth, the buzzing was even louder, and the smell of the Free Magic was even stronger than before. My eyes were watering; I could hardly breathe or hear anything. Ancel, still standing behind me slightly, was feeling the same. Almost all of the other soldiers had backed off further, almost 20 metres away; some were even throwing up in the nearby bushes.

Iana began to shake slightly, the Free Magic getting much too strong for her to handle. I sobbed quietly, unwilling to see her go through so much just for so little. The Lieutenant carefully put a hand on my shoulder; I looked at him, and he smiled weakly at me. Iana was gritting her teeth in pain, but stayed standing. She took one deep breath… then yelled one last word. The buzzing noise turned into a silent shock wave, throwing all of us onto the floor; the smell of Free Magic so strong that I blacked out for a couple of seconds.

 

When I regained consciousness, all I could see was a red glow in the sky. Thinking that something had happened, I shot up, reaching out for someone to help me up. A hand grabbed mine and pulled me up quickly. I rapidly brushed myself off whilst holding onto the person for support, and turned to thank them, when I discovered that it was Ancel. I smiled to him, and he smiled back. Blushing furiously, he dropped my hand as if it had burnt him. I frowned and turned to look at Iana. She was still standing upright, that much was good… but the expanse of grass before her was roaring with 8-foot high flames. My mouth dropped open in amazement, at the fact that four different words had done that…

I jogged over to Iana as she stood there, looking at all she had done. She was very pale, and her eyes were slightly out of focus. She shook her head and looked at me, her eyes slowly adjusting again. I smiled at her and she smiled back weakly. The smell of Free Magic was still so strong, the metallic tang at the back of my throat so foul... I put my hand on her arm, smothering a cough.

"Come on, we've got to get back to Wyverley; we have maths in the morning. Wouldn't want to miss that," I joked and she groaned, pointed at the fire, drawing and speaking a Charter Mark; the fire died immediately.

"I'd rather stay out here," she moaned, her voice hoarse and raspy, but followed me back to the soldiers, picking up her sword belt and bandoleer on the way. I passed her Saraneth and she placed the bell back in its pouch, fastening the straps with shaking hands.

"Where were you heading when you were attacked?" I asked Ancel, as Iana buckled on her things; He lowered his head slightly.

"To you, Your Highness; your Father had words that a group of the Dead were preparing to cross the Wall. He sent us to protect you; we knew their aim was to kill you, although we had no idea there would be that many," he answered; I nodded and thought for a while.

"Where were you planning to go… after defeating the Dead?" I asked; Ancel shrugged slightly, and then remembered he was answering royalty and answered properly.

"We had not decided Your Highness, we could go back to the Wall," he suggested.

"That's too far to go tonight… How about you come to Wyverley College for the night? At least you'd have a warm place to sleep and warm food in the morning," Iana suggested eagerly, her eyes flitting rapidly from me to Ancel and back again. I knew she was trying to play matchmaker, but Ancel didn't need any help. He was really handsome, his grey eyes made him look dark and mysterious and I'd love to run my hand through his dark waves of hair… I silently cursed myself for those thoughts and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, Iana, and we'd be able to sneak all of them back into our room and hide them under the beds so the teacher's won't notice," I said sarcastically; I sounded sharper than I meant to, probably because of Ancel, so threw an apologetic look at Iana.

"True, that would be difficult. Well, we'll sneak back into our room, like we haven't left, and they can knock on the door and say they were attacked by Dead on the way to some sort of conference. They couldn't just turn their back on them then," she told me, smiling. I grinned back at her.

"Alright then. If that's okay with you, Lieutenant?" I asked, looking at Ancel. He smiled slightly.

"We are under your command, Highness," he said, amusement showing in his voice. He bowed low and all his soldier friends copied him.

"I don't know about that," I muttered and Iana giggled croakily. Some men went to fetch the horses and we moved on. It was beginning to get chilly, and a cold breeze made me shiver slightly; Iana noticed and giggled again.

"I'm sure Lieutenant Ancel would happily keep you nice and warm, Silver," she mocked; I threw her a glare and she smothered her giggles.

"I won't forget this. When someone makes you loose concentration for one second I'm going to remember today and tease you just as much as you're teasing me!" I threatened. "I was just surprised to see a party of my Father's soldiers, that's all," I murmured, more to myself than Iana.

"Yeah, sure," Iana laughed. I found that a little voice in my mind said exactly the same thing. Damn conscience… Ancel appeared next to us again, leading his horse, a chestnut mare. I noticed he had lovely long legs as he strode alongside us. Iana was looking at his horse, so hadn't noticed; thank the Gods. She was mad on horses, always had been…

Note: The part about me being mad on horses; _completely_ true...

Hugs!

Iana XxX


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the late update; forgot to bring my USB stick into college so I couldn't update! Anyway, 'Ta Dah'!! New chapter!

Ancel POV

I thought I noticed Silver looking at me, but when I turned to look at her I found that she wasn't. She was looking at Iana. Perhaps it had just been my imagination… I took the chance to look at her properly. She really was quite pretty… all the people around the palace had said so, and I agreed with them. Her hair was a wonderful colour, deep and rich, and she had a wonderful slim figure. The Princess Iana was never at the castle; she was always travelling around the Old Kingdom with her Mother, Abhorsen Lirael. No one there knew her at all. A sudden question broke into my thoughts, but I was a little too late to work out what had been said. Iana was watching me expectantly for an answer.

"Sorry, Highness, could you repeat your question?" I asked politely. Iana had a knowing look in her eye, almost as if she knew what I had been thinking about. The look made me blush, even though I had done nothing wrong; I only thought Silver was pretty… That's not a crime is it?

"I asked you the name of your horse, Lieutenant," she replied, amusement in her voice. Silver glared at her, obviously noticing her tone of voice. This made me blush deeper; I hoped they couldn't see it in the dim light.

"It's Lily, apparently. I was given her at the last post we passed through," I told her. I suddenly had a thought; shouldn't I ask if either of the Princesses wanted to ride my horse? It was rude just to make them walk. I can't believe I hadn't thought to do that... "Do you wish to ride, Princess Silver?" I asked, gesturing towards Lily. Silver turned her gaze on me; I met a pair of eyes I couldn't describe… They were brown… but green at the same time. They had many depths and a spark of magic hiding at the bottom; I felt if I leaned towards them I would fall into them…

"No thank you, Lieutenant," she replied, snapping me out of my trance. All at once her gaze had shifted, leaving me feeling alone and cold. I shook that confusing feeling off and turned to Iana.

"How about you, Princess?" I inquired, determined not to let my mind linger on Silver.

"No thanks, I need to stretch. Besides, we're nearly there," she said friendlily, her voice still slightly croaky.

"You and your men may ride if you wish. Don't be looking at me to give you orders on whether you should walk or ride," Silver told me, her voice hard; then her voice softened, "Sorry, I'm so rude today… I guess I'm just tired."

"I get like that too, sometimes, Highness," I smiled. She turned to me and smiled directly at me. Suddenly, something strange happened in my chest and in the pit of my stomach at the same time. It felt like the bottom of my stomach had just dropped away, and my heart had stopped for a second. I was grateful when she turned away again. What had just happened to my body? Was I getting ill?

"You're tired?" Iana growled, her voice rising hysterically, "YOU'RE TIRED???" Silver turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder to quieten her.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you did all of the work tonight…" she consoled Iana, who did look pretty worn out… Iana turned to look at Silver.

"You're being sarcastic aren't you?" she asked; Silver looked shocked.

"How could you even think that of me!" she cried, looking hurt. It didn't fool Iana though…

"You are; I can tell…" she said matter-of-factly; Silver looked sheepish and shrugged.

"What can I say?" she demanded, walking on ahead, "Living with you for so long, it comes as second nature now…" I turned to look at Iana; she glanced at me and sighed.

"Before you ask, yes; she's going to get a right pounding later…" I grinned knowingly…

 

"Here we are," Iana spoke up, breaking the long silence; I looked up to see that we were right next to a wall over 9 feet high, which seemed to stretch for miles either way. "Wyverley Collage is on the other side of this wall. Carry on along the wall and you'll come to the gates. Rattle them a bit, shout and the watchman should come and ask you what you're doing. Tell him you've been attacked by Dead; he's used to magic, and that you need to see Magistrix Harker."

"Yes, Highness," I answered her to show I had understood what she had said.

"Don't mention us at all. We'd get into so much trouble if they knew we had sneaked out," Silver warned, "Make out that it's just a huge coincidence that we go to school here when you see us in the morning. If all goes well, the next time we see you should be at breakfast."

"Yes, Highness."

"Come on Silver," Iana whined impatiently, crouching as if she was going to give Silver a boost up. To my surprise Silver put her foot on Iana's hand and was thrown up. I raised my eyebrows in surprise; she must be light… or Iana must be strong… or both… She caught the top of the wall and she swung herself up onto it. She then leaned down and Iana used her arm to pull herself up; Silver must also be quite strong… I watched as they perched themselves on the edge.

"I get the strangest feeling that you do this often," I laughed; they both grinned down at me and again I was struck by how pretty Silver was. Iana was really pretty too, but Silver hit me like a tonne of bricks. Why her?

"Your feelings are actually correct, Lieutenant. See you in the morning," Iana said, grinning wickedly, and dropped down over the other side of the wall. Silver just nodded her head at me and followed.

Iana POV

I landed quietly on the other side of the wall, Silver dropping a split second later. We kept close to the ground and crept under the nearest tree. It was pitch black now, compared to the dusk when we had escaped. I looked at Silver, who shook her head and motioned for me to lead the way. I nodded, but suddenly started coughing quietly; the smell of Free Magic still lingered on me. I quickly composed myself and pushed on ahead. I could only see by the bits of silvery light as the moon came out, then disappeared behind the clouds, and then appeared again, making it slow going.

We were only 20 metres away from the wall that was covered in overgrown ivy, when the sound of rattling metal came. I gulped as I realised how little time we had left to get back into our room before we were discovered. I felt a shove in my back as Silver tried to get me moving again. I frowned before checking around for anyone. The gatekeeper had now reached the gate, and was conversing with Lieutenant Ancel… Silver _so_ fancied him!

With one last quick glance, I sprinted forward to the wall and began scrambling up the ivy, Silver not far behind. My breath was coming in rattling gasps now, but we weren't far from our window. The soldiers had been let in and were now on their way up the wide gravel path, Ancel talking quietly with the gatekeeper. Silver paused in her climbing to look at the Lieutenant; I glanced down at her, then over to the soldiers. Suddenly, I realised that Ancel could see us! I watched as his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open in the shock of seeing us scaling a wall. I shook my head and mouthed for him not to say anything. He nodded his head ever so slightly it was almost undetectable, and carried on. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Silver. Her eyes were wide in the fright of very nearly being discovered. I tapped her head lightly with my foot and nodded for her to go up. She shook her head and pointed up; I frowned and carried on climbing.

I reached the windowsill and pulled myself in, turning and lowering a hand so Silver could get up. We stood together panting in the un-lit room, trying to get our breath back as quick as possible. I looked at Silver.

"W-what now?" I gasped, my hands on my hips, desperately thinking up plans, most of them involving running home to the Old Kingdom as fast as my legs could carry me… Silver shrugged her shoulders.

"Get changed and into bed, double quick…" she answered, taking off her leather panpipe pouch. Wondering how she could think up brilliant plans so fast, I turned around and Silver helped me take off my bell bandoleer. We un-strapped our sword belts and pulled off our boots, so we that made less noise and didn't wake up the dormitory of second year girls that slept below us. Silver took the swords and hid them away, and I took the bells and panpipes and stuffed them into the drawer next to my bed. I yanked open a drawer below that one and pulled out a pair of 3-quarter length pyjama bottoms and 3-quarter sleeved top. Silver had grabbed her shortie pyjamas from her bed and ran into the bathroom to get changed. I stayed where I was and got changed rapidly on my bed, taking my hair out of its horsetail and brushing it through quickly. By the time Silver came out, I was putting my clothes away and hiding my dirty boots.

"I'll put your clothes away," I whispered, hurrying over to her, "You get rid of those shoe prints and close the window," Silver nodded and handed me the pile of clothes. I sped over to her wardrobe and filed them away with her boots, while Silver used the Charter marks for hiding and cleanliness to do away with the dark muddy prints on the cream carpet. We finished and looked at each other again. Silver smiled at me while pulling a brush through her hair, obviously pleased at the state of the room.

"This has got to be the cleanest this room has ever been…" she muttered, putting the brush on her bedside table.

"If we get caught, I'm blaming you," I hissed at her, panting again with the speed at which we'd done everything, "It was your idea to go in the first place," Silver grinned.

"But it was worth it wasn't it?" she asked, scrambling into bed, "We defeated the Dead didn't we?"

"Yes, but I almost blew myself up in the process!" I almost cried out in exasperation; Silver made shushing motions with her hands. I shook my head and climbed gingerly into bed, my arms and legs aching. I sighed as I sank into the bed, my head resting on the soft cushion.

"Don't wake me if anything happens; it's your turn to deal with it…" I murmured to Silver, who only sighed in reply.

Ahhh... bed... I'm tired now...

Hugs yawn

Iana XxX


	7. Chapter 7

Another chapter online! dances around Oh yeah, oh yeah! People like me, oh yeah!

Vanilla Bean CEO: Oooo... It'd be hell if I couldn't update my stories in college, as it gets me away from the crowded cafeteria and screaming Lower Sixth kids!

Silver POV

Iana fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow, but I couldn't rest, knowing that Ancel was in the college; I had heard the gatekeeper open the front door and let the soldiers in only a couple of minutes ago. Headmistress Filene had been called out of her private chambers to see to them, and had sent for Magistrix Harker for assistance. I smiled as I recognised the voice of Ancel, telling the two women what had happened, hopefully without mentioning me and Iana… but there was no need to worry. I knew Ancel would never endanger the life of his Princesses; sometimes I love being royalty!

There had been a small space in which no one spoke, I got a bit worried then, but now people were talking together again, probably arranging where the soldiers were going to stay. I sighed, then coughed quietly. The metallic tang of Free Magic still hung in the air; I hoped it didn't get out of the room through cracks around the door, so other people would smell it… I went back to thinking about how Iana had destroyed those Dead bodies. Silently, I wondered what it had felt like to have that much power at your command. To be able to do almost anything, just by speaking a word… But looking at how much pain Iana must have been in when it tried to take over her… I think I'll stick to Charter Magic thanks…

The train of thoughts stopped, then I realised that I hadn't heard anyone speak in a while. I sat up in my bed and listened hard. There was a noise, almost like someone climbing the stairs quietly… I frowned and was about to get out of bed to ask whoever it was to go back to bed and let other people sleep, when the bedroom door started to open. I gasped softly and drew back under my covers.

"I know you're awake Silver… and you too Iana…" it was Magistrix Harker; I sighed and sat up again. It was no use trying to lie to the Magistrix; she knew every Charter mark for truth and revealing that existed. She looked at Iana.

"I know you're awake Iana…" she repeated; Iana took no notice, only snored lightly in her sleep. The Magistrix shook her head, thinking that Iana was doing the noises for dramatic effect, bent down and pulled the quilt away from her bed. She looked quite shocked when she found out that Iana really was asleep! She frowned and muttered to herself for a couple of seconds, before noticing the smell in the room.

"What is that?" she cried, waking Iana up.

"What… who… neh?" she mumbled sitting up in a daze, then fell out of bed with a thud when she discovered Magistrix Harker, "Er… hi… Magistrix Harker…" She scrambled upright and looked at her quilt on the floor, scratching her head, "How did that get there?" I stifled a giggle and climbed out of bed.

"To what do we owe this unexpected visit?" I asked the Magistrix politely, carefully motioning for Iana to keep quiet; she nodded slightly and began fixing her bed. The Magistrix hadn't even noticed…

"I and Headmistress Filene have reason to believe you two have been sneaking out of the college again," she told us, studying our faces for any tell-tale signs of lies.

"What reason is that, may I ask?" I asked icily, desperate not to slip up and say something stupid that would get I and Iana into trouble. The Magistrix smiled and beckoned us out of the room. We followed quietly, worried that we may not be able to get out of this one. Iana still looked very tired, obviously the backlash of using so much power. I smiled to her and put a hand on her shoulder as we went down the set of stairs to the first floor.

"Don't worry," I whispered, "We're leaving here soon, then we won't be able to get into trouble," Iana smiled weakly and turned to me.

"Remember what I said before?" she asked in a hushed voice; I frowned and shook my head, straining for the memory, "That if we got caught I was blaming you?" My eyes widened and I took my hand from her shoulder as I realised just how much trouble it'd be in if Father found out… Iana grinned wickedly.

"Oh, yeah…" I mumbled looking down at the floor as we started descending the stairs to the ground floor; Iana looked slightly upset. Putting an arm around my shoulders, she whispered;

"I was only messing; I'll take the blame if you want. I know you'd get into a lot more trouble than I would…" I smiled and gave her a hug.

"No; we'll take the blame together," I mumbled, "Like we have done all the other times."

We stopped a couple of steps from the bottom of the stairs and looked around. Headmistress Filene was tapping her foot in impatience at the bottom of the stairs, the Gatekeeper was returning to the entrance hall with a maid who pushed a trolley of food and drinks, Magistrix Harker was standing on the other side of the stairs at the bottom, and in front of us was a crowd of Royal Guard, all staring at us with wide eyes…

Ancel POV

Gatekeeper Jeré had opened the doors and let us into the College Entrance Hall; I looked around at the hall, amazed at its size. There was a large staircase in the middle of the hall, obviously to the floor above. It was made of white marble, with a deep red carpet runner up the middle. The walls were a cream colour with dark wood panelling on the bottom half, while the floor was also made of white marble.

The Headmistress Filene had come out of her chambers and was now standing in front of us with a suspicious look on her face.

"Why are you here?" she asked. I was about to answer truthfully when I remembered what Lady Iana had told me. I cleared my throat, my lips twitching into a slight smile, still thinking about the two girls climbing the side of a building…

"We were attacked by the Dead near Docky Point," I answered; the Headmistress looked thoughtful, yet still suspicious.

"Go and fetch Magistrix Harker," she told Jeré, "She'll know what's going on," the Gatekeeper nodded and disappeared into a corridor on the left. I wondered what a 'Magistrix' was; how would she know what was going on?

It took a couple of minutes, but the Magistrix soon appeared, dressed in a deep green dressing gown. Upon seeing us, the woman looked shocked and staggered back slightly. I frowned, wondering what on earth was going on… Headmistress Filene strode over to her and whispered in her ear. The Magistrix nodded and walked towards me.

"I am Magistrix Harker," she told me, "The teacher in charge of magic in the College," she moved her hair away from her forehead to show a Charter mark. I pushed my hair away from my forehead to show a similar mark; I lifted two fingers and touched the mark, as the Magistrix did the same to me. The mark flared and I felt myself falling into the familiar swirl of the Charter, lights sparkling all around me. I took my fingers away and looked at her.

"Uncorrupted," she told the Headmistress, who sighed in relief. The Magistrix took a step back and looked me in the eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"We were heading to a conference when we were attacked by the Dead at Docky Point," I answered, not mentioning a thing about the Princesses, "Yours was the nearest safe house," The Magistrix smiled.

"You're not telling the truth; or only half of it at least," she declared. I gulped, how did she know? I didn't want to get the girls into trouble, but this woman must know every mark for detecting the truth or something…

There was a lengthy silence, in which the Magistrix tried to work out the truth, and I tried to think up an excuse. Then the Magistrix cleared her throat.

"You are the Royal Guard of the Old Kingdom, are you not?" she enquired; I nodded. She rubbed her chin and smiled.

"The Old Kingdom?" the Headmistress whispered, the blood draining from her face. The Magistrix motioned for her to keep quiet and turned back to me.

"And you are sworn to protect the Royal Family, and those of the Blood?" she asked, grinning slightly; I frowned and nodded slowly. Magistrix Harker smiled and turned to Headmistress Filene. "These men need food and a cup of tea; they've been through a lot…" She then whisked away to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" the Headmistress asked, scampering over to the bottom of the staircase, after sending the Gate Keeper to fetch a Maid to bring food and drinks.

"To interrogate our two Prefects…" the Magistrix replied; the Headmistress looked slightly confused.

"Which two?" The Magistrix smiled.

"Oh, you know, the usual suspects…" and she disappeared up stairs.

 

Only a couple of minutes later, the Magistrix returned, accompanied by Silver and Iana. It took me a couple of seconds to work out what they were wearing, then I realised they were in their pyjamas! I turned to look behind me; the whole of the company must have also worked out what they were wearing… They were all stood staring at them with wide eyes, jaws almost touching the floor… Iana was wearing pants that only came down to her knees and the top reached just over her elbows, whilst being slightly low-cut; Silver was wearing even less than that, her pants being shorts and all…The girls had noticed the staring as well, and looked slightly uncomfortable; I cleared my throat.

"About turn!" I called loudly, throwing furious stares at the soldiers as I turned with them. Some took a while longer to turn around than others, their eyes being captivated by the sight before them. Somehow, I didn't like the thought of other men staring at Silver…

I heard one of the girls stifle a giggle, and then give a gasp of pain. That would be Iana; from the short amount of time I had spent with them, I could tell that she was the joker and Silver was the sensible one. One of them cleared their throat… That would be Silver…

"There's no need to do that…" she exclaimed; I turned slightly so I could see them; Iana was grinning madly, desperately trying not to laugh as she rubbed her side.

"Why not milady?" I asked; Silver didn't answer, just looked at me, and I gazed back at her. The Magistrix stepped forwards.

"You know this man, Silver?" she asked, smiling smugly; Silver looked at her, thinking her words through.

"Yes, he's my Father's most trusted guard, of course I know him," she answered carefully. I smiled slightly; it wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.

"And you have no idea what he is doing here?" she asked further. At this point I noticed that some of my men had turned to look at the girls, and I threw them glares; they turned to face the wall again. Silver still hadn't answered. "I suggest you tell me the truth girls," the Magistrix told them, but her voice was soft; she didn't really blame them.

"I could feel dead, at Docky Point, and people. We thought the people might be in trouble, so we went to help," Iana spoke this time, "We snuck out of school and walked there; the Guards were fighting them."

At this point I turned around fully and cleared my throat. Everyone looked at me, even my own men.

"Excuse me, Magistrix Harker, but if the women hadn't turned up, many of us would have lost our lives," I informed her. Silver's eyes were on me again, and she looked slightly confused.

"Many of them did anyway…" she whispered, her eyes seeming upset. I looked away, ashamed for making her feel bad.

"I know you were both acting as your instincts told you, and helping out of the kindness of your heart, but you put yourselves in serious danger," Magistrix told them, her voice soft, "Think how your families would suffer if we were to tell them that you slipped out of school to fight for something that didn't involve you, and you died because you hadn't been trained well enough. Think how your parents would feel… Iana, your Father already worries about you every second of the day… And Silver… you have the Kingdom to think about… All those people that might need you one day," I just had to look up at Silver again; her head was bowed slightly, a curtain of long auburn hair covering her face. My heart gave a tug for her; she was so young but had the weight of a kingdom on her shoulders… That was why she was so sensible; she hadn't the time to be silly when people were watching her every move… The Magistrix went to them and put her hands on their shoulders.

"Go to bed girls… You've had a trying night. The Lieutenant and his men may stay for a while, until they contact your Fathers and find out what is to be done; we'll see to them," she added and the girls turned to go.

"Wait! Magistrix! It is my place to decide what is to be done," the Headmistress called out, "The Lieutenant and his men may stay, and we may overlook the matter in hand, but you girls still need to be punished," I felt my fists clench and the hair stand up at the back at my neck just at the tone of her voice, but I suppose Iana and Silver had gone against the rules. "An hour's detention with me every night for a week. And don't look at me like that Iana; you broke the rules. Now, off you go," she dismissed them, "Oh, and while they are here, the men will be your responsibility… If they do anything I don't like, you will have to answer to me."

"Yes, Headmistress," both girls muttered dutifully and climbed the stairs once more; I watched them go until they disappeared from sight.

MWAH! to everyone that reads and likes this story, even those lurkers that don't like reviewing... I'll get you, soon...

Iana XxX


	8. Chapter 8

Bigs hugs to you all! Eating breakfast and trying to type at the same time, so I can't give individual thanks at the moment; promise I'll make it up to you in the next chapter!

_Meanwhile, at the town of Wyverley Village;_

_He fumed quietly, clenching his hands into fists and unclenching them again, venting his frustration silently. How had they done it? He had watched the Royal Guards riding to meet his Dead creatures, but there was only just over half the number of them compared to his servants; how could they defeat them? Giving up trying to work it out, he decided to go and see for himself._

_As soon as he got within 100 yards of Docky Point, he could smell the Free Magic; the metallic tang that left a bitter aftertaste at the back of his throat, though that had ceased to bother him when he had reached the age of 12. But what did worry him was the strength of it. He had felt the Dead destroyed over an hour ago and had waited to make sure that everyone had gone before coming to investigate; even without a strong wind, the smell of Free Magic should have disappeared by now… He scouted around and discovered a huge patch of burnt grass, reeking of Free Magic._

_"So this is how she did it," he muttered to himself, looking around further, "Princess Iana is more powerful than I had expected…" Suddenly, he caught the faintest trace of Charter Magic, coming from a spot a couple of metres away from him. Treading silently, he found the spot and examined it with Free Magic; this is where Iana had stood. He smiled; so the Princess wasn't as in control of her power as she or her father would like. His mouth twisted; father. He had never known his father properly, aside from the visits which his mother claimed had happened when he was a baby, though he would never know whether or not she was telling the truth; his mother had died 9 years ago when he was 16._

_He shook his head, ridding himself of old thoughts; he had to concentrate on the task ahead of him. Moving off, he followed the road leading down to Wyverley College, staying in the cover of the trees. Once at the college wall, it was simple matter of using his inhuman strength to jump and pull himself over; he dropped to the ground quietly, creeping towards the college building. It would be safer to eliminate Princess Iana first, he thought; get rid of the strong and the weaker will fall easier. He smiled as he realised how simple this was going to be._

_Suddenly, a dim figure moved ahead of him towards the rear of the college, leading a string of horses; he grinned wickedly. Princess Iana was well known throughout the Old Kingdom for her love of horses, so - according to his logic - she should visit them at least once a day. As silent as the shadows around him, he followed the figure, feeling for the border of Death at the same time to make sure he could still reach it here in Ancelstierre._

_He waited until the man had stabled the horses before coming out into the open; the stableman stared at him, not knowing what to do when faced with a stranger in a mask._

_"I need you to do something for me…" he began, already assessing the man to work out how long he would last, "You are going to look after my little friend…"_

Next day;

Iana POV

I woke early, as usual, and stared at the ceiling of the bedroom, wondering if last night had just been a dream… I didn't think so… I could still smell the last lingering scents of Free Magic. I sat up and took a look around the room; it was spotless! It had been real! I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, even though we didn't have to get up for another hour and a half. I wanted to see if the soldiers were awake yet… and I was starving. The cooks were used to seeing me in the kitchen at this time in the morning; I knew each of them by first names I saw and talked to them that often. I got washed and dressed in my uniform, and then went to wake Silver up; I didn't think she'd mind getting up this early to see Ancel…

She did.

She groaned and pulled the covers back up over her head. I tried pleading with her; I didn't want to be the only girl down there if all the soldiers were awake. She seemed to be asleep again. I nudged her.

"Ancel will probably be up…" I said slyly; she lowered the covers so that I could see her face.

"Do you think so? I… I need to speak to him about informing Father about what happened last night," she lied; I hid my grin and nodded.

"Good idea," I agreed. She sighed and got out of bed while I went to brush my hair and put my makeup on. When Silver had finished getting dressed she joined me at the mirror, and I could see she was making more of an effort to look good today. I just smiled and decided not to say anything; I knew I'd get elbowed in the ribs again if I mentioned it. I waited for her as she touched up her lip gloss and ran a brush through her long auburn hair again; I knew it was all for Ancel's sake, but she would never admit to it.

They were there as we entered the dining hall, every one of them tucking into a large, hot, breakfast. They all looked up as we entered the room, then stood when they realised who we were. I felt my cheeks getting hot and turned to Silver, she was bright red too.

"You don't have to stand," I muttered, "We're not in the Old Kingdom now…"

"Yeah, here we're just ordinary girls, with half of our army sleeping at our school," Silver growled; she really wasn't a morning person. I looked at her.

"You called me… ordinary…"

"Oh… sorry… I'm just an ordinary girl, no one knows what she is." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"You know, those 'She's a weirdo, I'm her carer' jokes are starting to get really old…"

"They might be old, but they're funny, like Grandpa Touchstone." she sniggered, I smiled.

"True…" Then I realised that the soldiers were still standing up, obviously waiting for us to actually tell them to sit down.

"Ermm… At ease?" Silver tried; there was a lot of noise as the soldiers sat down again and began to eat. Just then, my stomach gave a huge growl… Silver giggled; some of the soldiers near us stared at me and sniggered slightly.

I slowly made my way across the room to the serving hatch. It was horrible; all the men stared at me while I walked… Silver followed me quickly, not wanting to walk all the way across the room alone.

"Scary, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah; and I'm wearing a skirt…" I hated our college uniform; the short sleeved white shirt with a thin navy tie tucked into a knee-length pleated black skirt, long black stockings with sensible black shoes and a navy blazer; both mine and Silver's showed our names stitched onto the pocket, an enamelled school badge pin, a Roman 'VI' for the sixth form and a gilt crown for our Prefect status.

"Now you know how I feel when I'm at the palace." I nodded, understanding completely now.

"Luckily, I don't have that problem," I told her, placing my tray on the counter and asking for cereal … and a glass of apple juice… and toast… and jam…

"Don't count on it…" Silver muttered quietly, also placing her tray down and asking for a glass of orange juice and toast. I was about to ask her what she meant when Betty, one of the cooks began talking.

"Hello darlin', hungry are you?" she asked me, smiling; I grinned back.

"Very!"

"And how are you Silver? We never usually see you down here at this time in the morning," Betty mentioned; Silver yawned and smiled back.

"Usually I'm all snuggled up in bed, but the weirdo decided to wake me up today," she told Betty as I elbowed her. Our food and drinks came and we carried them over to some empty seats at the end of the soldier's table. We sat down and Silver began to eat her toast, but I just looked at her.

"What do you mean 'Don't count on it'?" I asked; Silver looked quite guilty and studied her toast closely, a sure thing that she was hiding something.

"Oh, nothing… Forget I mentioned it," she told me.

"But what did you mean?"

"Nothing… Dad's gonna kill me…" she muttered; I frowned at her.

"Why would Sameth kill you?" I asked, frowning in confusion.

"No reason," she answered and I was about to question her further, but she interrupted me, "Oh look, here's Ancel; come and join us Lieutenant," she said brightly. I looked up to see Ancel hovering behind us with a tray of food. He smiled and sat down next to me, tucking into his breakfast.

"This stuff is delicious…" he muttered, "What is it?" I grinned.

"It's called Cereal," Silver explained, buttering her toast, "We can take some back to the Old Kingdom with us if you want…" I grimaced; I knew she was trying to change the subject…

"Did you know that Silver's father is going to kill her?" I asked Ancel, as if it was a totally normal conversation; Ancel dropped his spoon into his bowl with a clatter.

"What!"" he exclaimed, staring at Silver; I watched as she put her head in her hands and sighed.

"Its nothing!" she huffed, glaring at me, "Iana is just trying to… annoy me…" I smiled smugly.

"And it seems to be working," Silver narrowed her eyes at me; I looked at her with a calm expression on my face. "You know I'll keep on doing this until we get to the House… Unless you tell me…?" I saw Ancel watching Silver closely out of the corner of my eye, and suddenly had an idea.

"Or I could be exceptionally evil and say things…" I muttered, taking a sip of my apple juice, "If you get what I mean…" Silver gulped and looked at the table for a second, then back at me.

"You wouldn't…" she breathed; I smiled sweetly and shrugged my shoulders, before starting to eat my cereal. Ancel looked from Silver to me, then to Silver again.

"What's going on…?" he asked, frowning. I looked Silver in the eyes; she turned away, unable to stand my gaze… So I gave her a kick under the table instead. I watched her face flush red as she tried not to cry out in pain; Ancel looked concerned…

"Are you all right, milady?" he inquired; Silver put on a fake smile and nodded.

"I'm - fine..." she gasped, rubbing her leg under the table, "Just a - shooting pain - in my leg…" I took another sip of my juice as I tried to hide a smile.

"So, are you going to tell me?" I asked politely; Silver glared at me as I took another sip of my juice.

"Fine!" she snapped, "Aunt Ellimere thinks it's about time you were introduced to the court properly, so you can meet possible suitors!" She clapped her hands over her mouth as I choked on my drink, spitting it out onto the table and holding my throat as it burned. All of the soldiers jumped in shock and turned to look at me, wondering what was going on. I started coughing violently and turned to the side so that it wouldn't get anyone. Ancel took action immediately, giving me a couple of sharp slaps between my shoulder blades. My face a bright red, I turned back to Silver, fury etched in every part of my face.

"WHAT!" I roared, unable to control my rage; Ancel - unwilling to get involved, even if he was curious as to the reason for the outburst - jumped back from my anger and almost fell from the bench. Every soldier stared at me, expressions of surprise on his face; probably wondering what I was on… Even the cooks in the kitchen stopped what they were doing, and they were used to the small scraps that happened every now and then. Silver gulped and looked away, not being able to stand my gaze again.

"It wasn't my idea; I-I told them you wouldn't agree to it…" she whimpered, "They told me not to tell you."  
"Damn right I won't agree…!" I replied, lowering my voice slightly because all the soldiers were listening and she seemed upset; Ancel was watching her closely and I could see his hand itching to reach out to touch her.

"Iana, please!" she pleaded, "Please just do this once, for me… Then you can run off somewhere else and fight the Dead… But I really don't want to go by myself for the feast Father's throwing to celebrate us finishing school. I have no one to talk to, and people are always watching my every move. And it'll be so humiliating this time…" I frowned; she really was upset, and Silver didn't get upset over nothing…

"Why will it be so much more humiliating this time?" Ancel asked softly before I could; his eyes hadn't left her face and her eyes darted to him for a second; she blushed and looked at her food.

"Well… I-I'll be officially available… f-for… courtship…" she muttered; _I_ was shocked by this, but I wasn't shocked enough to miss Ancel's reaction. He visibly flinched, his face fell and his eyes went to his food. Silver rested her elbows on the table and ran a frantic hand through her hair, sighing. "In her letters, Mum's been telling me all about these men I've never met before, and how handsome and reliable they are, and who's son they are, and how much Dad thinks of them… And she's invited them all to the feast…" she moaned; Ancel was fidgeting madly, not knowing what to do with his hands, not knowing if he should stay or go. "I'm not ready for it yet. I'm not ready to settle down for the good of the kingdom…"

Ancel promptly got up and muttered something about having to speak to the Sergeant, and hurried away. Silver looked up as he left, a puzzled expression on her face; she glanced at me, as if questioning why he had left.

"He's jealous…" I told her knowingly; she smiled weakly.

"I wish…"


	9. Chapter 9

WOOHOO!!! UPDATE!!! Darn site wouldn't let me do anything with it; I've been trying to update for the past week! Anyway, here you go; another chapter, all for my lovely readers! Enjoy!

Ringwarriorkayla: Woot! Encouragement; just what I needed to get me off my fat bottom and get moving! Thanks!

Vanilla Bean CEO: NO!!! Put pressure on me!!! It'll make me work faster!! Or it might just make me feel bad... Shrugs shoulders

monachulus puella: Just let me know if you want me to e-mail you when I update, I don't mind! I'm just happy you like the story!

Silver POV

Life was so unfair. First, I end up with a detention every night for a whole week, then Iana flips on me, and then I'm totally humiliated in front of the whole of my Etiquette class!

Apparently, Ancel had come to the conclusion that whosoever had sent the Dead hands might have also chosen to send more along to finish off the job. He therefore decided that Iana and I had best not be let out of his sight, and the only way to do that was to accompany us to every single one of our classes.

With the rest of the company.

Not that any of the other 14 girls in our Etiquette class were complaining; nice looking men were very few and far between around Wyverley College. But what did bother them was the fact that the soldiers wouldn't take their eyes off me and Iana, and all of them wanted to know why they were dressed in strange clothes, none of them knowing what an Old Kingdom Royal Guard's uniform looked like. And of course, we weren't permitted to tell them where they were from, or how they got here, or who we really were. So we ended up looking like total fools in our Etiquette class, as the soldiers stood around the sides of the room like statues, watching our every move.

Our teacher, Mrs Parker, wasn't very pleased with the arrangement but she had to live with it; a quick word with the headmistress got her no information, only instructions on how to make sure that the soldiers were not disturbed by questions from the other girls in the class. Needless to say, Iana and I received some pretty weird looks from her and our classmates, but I don't think they really bothered Iana; she was completely used to them, and even went so far as to smile and say hello to the people staring at her.

We were supposed to be revising the many ways a lady must act when receiving flowers and gifts from different nobilities today, but after a brown envelope was delivered to Mrs Parker 15 minutes into the class, the whole lesson went out the window. Every girl leant forward over the table in their seats, whispering to each other excitedly. Our test results had arrived!

"I don't want to know mine now…" Iana groaned, putting her head in her hands, "I know I should have revised harder…"

"I hate it when she says them out loud so the class knows what you've got," I muttered, grimacing.

"And to top the whole thing off, we've got half of your army gagging in on it!" she hissed to me across the aisle; I quickly glanced around at the soldiers. They were all looking at each other with confused expressions on their faces; Ancel looked particularly interested.

"Hush now, ladies," Mrs Parker chided the lot of us, "I'll read out the subject and then the places, but only if you'll quieten down," Everyone shut up immediately; Iana began hitting her head on the table quietly so no one could hear her, but a few of the soldiers looked at her strangely.

"Firstly, Art, and we have a joint first place everybody!" she began, looking around the class, "Excellent work Miss Sayre and Miss Elestral," Iana looked up at me in amazement; I just stared at her. Mrs Parker continued to read the names of the other girls, and then began on the places for English.

"First place to Miss Elestral, second place to Miss Lytle, third place to Miss Sayre…"

"Etiquette; first place to Miss Elestral, second place to Miss Sayre…"

"Fencing; joint first to Miss Elestral and Miss Sayre…"

"Geography; joint first to Miss Elestral and Miss Sayre…"

"History; first place to Miss Garner, joint second to Miss Elestral and Miss Sayre…"

"Magic; joint _runaway_ first to Miss Elestral and Miss Sayre…" Iana turned to me with a look that said 'No surprises there!'

"Maths; first place to Miss Garner, second place to Miss Finn, joint third to Miss Elestral and Miss Sayre…"

"PE; first place to Miss Lytle, second place to Miss Hirie, joint third to Miss Elestral and Miss Sayre…"

"Riding; first place to Miss Sayre, second place to Miss Elestral…" I gave Iana congratulatory punch on her arm; she pulled tongues at me as some of the soldiers sniggered behind their hands.

"Science; first place to Miss Sayre, second place to Miss Elestral…" Our mouths were hanging open in disbelief; there _must_ have been some mix up with the results! Mrs Parker walked around handing out the certificates to us; there used to be a formal ceremony for this, but that was done away with when the college realised that some students need to leave before it. Doing it this way allowed anyone to leave when they felt it necessary... or circumstances called for it...

Iana stared at her certificate, her hair hanging over her face so that I couldn't see her expression. I looked at mine, lying there on the table before me; this was meant to decide my future in Ancelstirre. But I had no future in Ancelstirre; my future lay in the Old Kingdom with my family, as did Iana's. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that Iana was going to have more of a future than me. She'd be able to wander the Kingdom with her mother, father and older brother Verl; I'd be stuck in Belisaire with my mother and father and my older brother Rael, Grandma Sabriel and Grandpa Touchstone, and of course Aunt Ellimere and the whole of the Royal Court…

I sighed; there were times when I envied Iana's freedom. The way she was able to come and leave Court whenever she wanted without any repercussions, and the easiness with which she spoke to people; she didn't have to watch what she said in case the ministers were offended. Everyone knew what she was like and didn't dare argue with the Abhorsen-in-Waiting.

"Can you believe this?!" Iana hissed, "All that work and we're not even staying in this country!" I leant over the aisle and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down as I spotted the flush of red creeping onto her pale cheeks; a warning sign for those around her.

"Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon," I whispered, "Then we have forever to do what we want; no more tests!" Iana smiled ruefully.

"Not soon enough for me…" she muttered, getting up and stalking out of the class, the soldiers' eyes following in wonder; Mrs Parker stared at the door, open mouthed, disbelief preventing her voicing the reprimand that everyone else was expecting. Every single head turned in my direction; I smiled uncomfortably.

"Er, heh heh… she… um… n-needs a little time to, um… to… t-to be… by herself for a while… I think…" I tried to explain, failing miserably. Mrs Parker frowned and shook her head.

"If she's not back within 10 minutes, you'll have to go and look for her," she snapped, her short temper starting to fray; I nodded and looked down at my desk. Where had Iana gone? Why had she just walked out of class like that? I didn't understand it; even if she was coming down with the flu, Iana would stay in class until the end; she'd never go without a reason… I looked over at Ancel; he shrugged his shoulders and leant closer to my ear.

"I'll find her in five minutes, give her time to cool off," he whispered, his breath warm on the sensitive skin of my ear; I smiled up at him thankfully before settling back down to the lesson.

Right, the next chapter is not finished yet, so you might have to wait a while for it, sorry... cries Darn college!!! R&R, pleeeeeeeease!!!


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